SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: CAST A DEADLY SPELL

 

SEASON 6

There was something special about the HBO Original film.  I'm talking about the old school ones from the early 80's to the mid 90's.  Films like Blackout, Flashpoint, & The Park is Mine.  They had fair-sized budgets, included name performers as well as directors.   Sometimes they would have a small theatrical release or be a foreign-market original, like Fortress, but they felt to me like something exclusive.  Only myself and other HBO subscribers had access.  In a matter of years, most of them would be largely forgotten.

Last night Frani and I watched the dust-covered Cast a Deadly Spell.  This one, unlike the others I mentioned, is being carried by the HBO Max streamer.  I guess you could call this one a horror-noir.  It has all the noir trappings.  A private investigator who drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney.  He wanders around 1948 Los Angeles consorting with police force members, unseemly types of all shapes and sizes, and of course, femme fatales.  All the while, cracking wise with sharply written dialogue. 

The only difference is that in this version of 1948 L.A., magic is everywhere and being used by any and all.  Except our hero, Lovecraft, being played with spark by the late great Fred Ward.  Ward is great, and the rest of the cast is game as well, and they include David Warner, Clancy Brown, and Julianne Moore. 

Martin Campbell, who may have one of the most underrated of the film industry's longest resumes, is the director who does a nice job balancing the noirish atmosphere mixed with something the genre normally doesn't fraternize with: the supernatural.

Ghoulish beasties of other dimensions abound, and great practical effects bring those to life, as well as makeup work.  Despite the genre mashup, all of that doesn't seem to intrude.  The weird blend of fantasy elements and hard-boiled mystery seems to makes sense in some strange way,  Cast makes you wonder if Max Landis had seen this film before writing Bright a few years back. 

Overall, the film is entertaining, with a handful of laugh-out-loud moments.   It has just enough of the supernatural horror for your average Halloween movie aficionado to chalk up on the list for this time of year. 

I was a bit surprised that after several gory scenes of mayhem and murder, to see Clancy Brown's "goddamn" had clearly been overdubbed with a "goldurn".  I'd much rather a young impressionable viewer hear that rather mind profanity, than see some of the bloodshed that came before it. 

Overall, I'd recommend it.  Kind of like a Hocus Pocus for the Crime Story set. 

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: WITHIN THE PINES

SEASON 6

 

What a nifty little suspense thriller!

Our leading man, a sound recordist who is in the midst of a one way divorce heads out to the UK woods to record “ambience”.   Using his microphoned high tech recording device, he begins to follow sounds that perplex him. 

Nothing supernatural here, kids.  He walks into humanity at it worst.  Despite being a normal guy with normal problems, he does some greatness when confronted with a bitter slice of human nature, and an angry dose of mother nature. 

And you will admire his will. 

Brendan Cooney is terrific in a role that is all physical movement and emotional expression.  The lack of dialogue is a feature not a bug.  The woods does all the speaking here and the camera catches all its beauty, and its ugly ambivalence.  A chilling, yet sparse score adds to the tautness already unspooling on screen.  Which makes sense.  The composer had to come up with something to augment a project that relies so heavily upon audio that the sound designer is mentioned in the opening credits. 

Martin Cheney comes through in a major way.

A tight beautifully shot shocker, it will have you quietly hung on its lengthy imagery despite its compact 72 minute running time.  Right up to its stumble down the steps of a final shot.  If you like films that experiment with sound like Berberrian Sound Studio, the oft-harrowing Undertone, or Lorcan Finnegan's masterwork, Without Name, you'll like Within the Pines.

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: ALL HAIL THE POPCORN KING

 

SEASON 6

Frani and I have had a good fortune of seeing Joe R. Lansdale speak a couple of times. The Texas born, mojo champion genius horror/crime/drama storyteller has been doing it since the late 70s and doing it with edgy style and wicked panache. Hearing him speak just sealed the deal of how special he actually is. A hard-core old-school liberal, who himself is the basis for the character Hap in his long running Hap & Leonard series, he walks the walk.  Also a martial arts expert that teaches at a very high level in his hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas; he is to be feared.

 

That’s all spelled out here in All Hail the Popcorn King, a documentary by Hansi Oppenheimer that is as down-home as the author himself. A lot of footage is garnered from speaking conversationally, and on-the-go with Lansdale himself.  Voice interviews from many others, like Bruce Campbell, Joe Hill and more are here.  It’s heartwarming to hear his children and other family members speak of the loving personality that is Joe Lansdale as well. They’re not ego stroking, it’s all very earthy and real. 

I was a GoFundMe contributor to this film, full disclosure, but really that only added to my enjoyment of it. I felt a little pride at this little engine that could. At 55 minutes, I would’ve liked a little bit more time to spend with it, but overall it’s a heck of a piece of work and deserves to be placed at the top of the the list of docs on American writers.

SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: NORTH AMERICAN CRYPTID MUSEUM

THE NORTH AMERICAN CRYPTID MUSEUM, PLANO,TX.

Ever since I saw the trailer for the movie Sasquatch, and saw the episode of In Search Of... that I documented here, I've been a believer.  In Bigfoot.  Many have considered me a doof for doing so, but I figure if they believe in demons and boogeymen, I'm safe in my faith in a mysterious woodland being that happens to be completely undocumented.  

The North American Cryptid Museum just happens to be in the town I live in, Plano TX.  Frani and I decided to check it out today, and it was actually pretty impressive.  Attached in the building that houses the popular haunted attraction known as Dark Hour, it was pretty easy to find as well.  The "Ranger" who was our tour guide was funny, wise, knowledgeable and came at the museum's displays from not just a lore angle, but a fairly scientific one as well.  I think The North American Cryptid Museum would be appreciated by followers of Loren Coleman as well as Sid & Marty Krofft. 

It's wide ranging and pretty comprehensive.  Examples of cryptids are in abundance and well-detailed.  Not just by the fantastic designs and craftsmanship executing them, but in the visual and written examples of corroboration.  There's not just news videos rolling alongside both the towering and tiny cryptids on display, but tons of written media documentation underlining the eyewitness accounts dating back in many cases to the 1800's or even earlier.  What's really cool is the examples of very familiar-to-me cryptids, like the Hodag, and the infamous Beast of Bray Road.  The latter of which's display has a nice shout-out to the late great journalist Linda Godfried, who wrote the preeminent text on

 the matter.

Our guide's anecdotes of encounters mixed nicely with matter-of-fact accounts were often funny as well as chilling.  He pointed out that Bigfoot has been witnessed in every state except Hawaii, and that every state has examples of a cryptid. License plates nicely accent the many examples, as well as displays that textualize details that are both informative and creepy.  Some language is nicely handled by covering words and names that may be culturally insensitive if shared aloud, and I respect the hell out of that.  There's depth here that I didn't expect, and once I found that the whole museum is really a "labour of love" by the Dark Hour owner, it wasn't hard to see why that angle was taken. 

This was a blast of a thing to do for so-called Spooky Season, but really, for everyone, this is something that can be taken in year round.  And with the constant updating and fun additions like the Seattle Raccoon sensation, Jimothy, it wouldn't be repetitive to pop back in more than once.  I highly recommend The North American Cryptid Museum, and not just for Bigfoot aficionados like myself, but the civilian as well. 

THE SAMHAIN PROJECT, SEASON 6: TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE: THE MOVIE

 

SEASON 6

I've written before about they syndicated 80's anthology series known as Tales from the Darkside.   It made it's way to the big screen in 1990 in the form of what Tom Savini said should have actually been Creepshow 3, and not this apparent bullschtein below.  I've not seen it.  Don't plan to. 

In Tales, there's great appearances by big names who weren't quite big yet.  Folks like Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, and Julianne Moore, all game and turning in good work.  There are fun turns by Deborah Harry, David Johannsen, and Robert "I Can't Stop My Leg" Klein.  Great to see Klein here, as he's one of the comedians that I always forget was a centerpiece to me falling in love with standup in the early 80's.  In the latter segment, he plays James Remar's somewhat wishy-washy agent in the most compelling short of the three parts of this anthology. 

Lot 249 is interesting enough as Slater and Buscemi seem to alternate between being protagonist and antagonist.  Which are they in the long run?  I haven't decided yet.  Julianne Moore plays against what would be a sort of type for her in the future, and pulls it off nicely.  I love a good Mummy story, and this one's pretty solid, and very gruesome. 

 It is easy to forget how good Christian Slater's early career was.  From Gleaming the Cube to Pump Up the Volume, to Kuffs.  I still look back on those flicks every once in a while.  It's neat to see a young pre-Reservoir Dogs Buscemi here.  His role here is so different from the thuggery he displayed later, or the goofiness he put out to the world in multiple Adam Sandler movies.  Let's not forget the man directed the oft-forgotten and sadly under-appreciated Trees Lounge. 

The George Romero scripted Stephen King segment, The Cat From Hell is pretty slick.  It brings us one shitheel who turns to another for removal of a revenge-minded feline.  It's darker and funnier than it sounds. I mentioned to Frani during last night's viewing that David Johannsen is pretty amazing.  Not just here, but overall.  To go from the lead singer of The New York Dolls, to Buster Poindexter, to great bombastic performances like the cab-driver ghost in Scrooged, to his pro-style hitter here, is pretty telling of his talent.  I have his solo debut on vinyl, and its one of my favorite records.  

The last segment may be the best.  It's certainly the most compelling, moving and thought-provoking. Personal favorite James Remar plays a bit against his tough-guy type.  His sad-eyed performance as a down-on-his-luck visual artist dealing with the worst and the best night of his life is as intense as the evening in question itself.  Its a night that creates decisions for our hero, as his life is swept up both by a dark supernatural being, and by Rae Dawn Chong.  

Tales has great effects work by the now legendary KNB effects group, in concert with FX hero Dick Smith.  From cringe-inducing gore work to creepy monstrosities, their skills run the gamut, and really, this movie itself is a great audition tape for practical effects work. 

The film has a lot of fun, a little grue, and a heaping helping of the authorship of Michael McDowell, George Romero, and Stephen King.  Director and George Romero vet John Harrison moves it along efficiently and ties the whole package together with a nasty little bow that is the Hansel and Gretel wrap-around story. 

This is the epitome of Halloween viewing, and I think despite the names involved, it is an underrated example. 

SAMHAIN PROJECT SEASON 6: WARNING SIGN

 SEASON 6

Photo by Łukasz Nieścioruk on Unsplash

Well, it's that time of year again!

The Samhain Project has returned.  My musings, reviews, rumblings, and belching about all things Autumnal and Spookyish.   And I'm all pumpkin-spiced about it.  Let's get to it!

28 Days Later scared the bargoovians out of a lot of people when Danny Boyle unleashed it upon the woild.  Until recently, I thought that the concept of "the rage virus" was birthed there.  

I was wrong. 

 

 Frani and I refreshed the memory banks on a little movie from 1985 that I watched with my Mom when we lived in Waco, TX.   That's about all I remembered about it, other than thinking it was solid enough.  Being that I'm a pretty big fan of Sam Waterston, he of The Glass Menagerie fame,  who went on to play Hang 'em High Jack McCoy on Law & Order, as well as genius roles on Grace & Frankie & The Newsroom, I jumped back in on this little curio. 

It seems an agricultural business working on GMOs (and apparently some other shady shit) enjoys a test tube spill and before you know it, despite the best efforts of Kathleen Quinlan, all hell has broken loose.  People get bubbly and violent and start attacking folks in hordes.  Of course, sheriff Sam Waterston and government ace Yaphet Kotto show up and do some stuff.  Waterston pulls his weight nicely, playing his lead less as an action stud than a really worried husband.  He displays some nifty moments of apprehension and stumbling effort that you might not have seen had Chuck Norris or Sylvester Stallone been here in the role. 

Unlike 28 Days Later, the madness stays contained in a building, yet it works for the most part for this flick.  It doesn't feature a ton of gore, but the attacks are nonetheless very violent and there is no doubting the bad intent of our infected dudes here.  Craig Safan contributes a pretty cool synth score that is actually a little bit more effective than Hal Barwood's direction.  It's a bit vanilla, but he gets pretty good performances from a solid cast, particulary Quinlan. She's definitely the damsel in distress here. Unlike a lot of female characters in films of this time period, (outside the slasher movie Final Girls), she's as tough as she is human.

Nice supporters here, but Frank Darabont fave Jeffrey DeMunn steals the show despite some really difficult-to-believe scientific maneuvering that gets leaned upon in the final act. 

Sadly, overall, Warning Sign is not as scary or atmospheric as Boyle's movie, but definitely worth spending some Halloween time with. 

And for reals, George Romero actually gave us the debut of the rage virus, (as he did with the modern zombie in Night of the Living Dead) in his early 70s classic, The Crazies.  A film Aidan and I saw the remake of on its opening weekend, one of the best of the early 2000's horror remakes.  It stars Justified and Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant, whose performance is tip-top. 

I'd watch Olyphant in a documentary about toilet brushes, to be honest.

ANARCHY IN A RED STATE: SEX PISTOLS AT THE LONGHORN BALLROOM

Last night, Frani and I went and saw The Sex Pistols with Frank Carter at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas.  The last time The Pistols were there, (circa 1978) the show featured a disastrous ending that finished with John Lydon asking the crowd if they “ever felt like they’ve been cheated”. This was well documented in Julian Temple’s masterful documentary, The Filth & The Fury. 

In a touch of serendipity, Merle Haggard's son, Ben, is performing one night after The Pistols, just as his old man did in 1978, at the same venue.

September 11, 2026 brought a return of sorts. We showed up and watched original bassist and key songwriter Glen Matlock, guitarist and Lonely Boy author, Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and “supplemental” lead vocalist Frank Carter take the stage and literally rip it up for a good hour plus. 

Jones sounded great, that Les Paul Bollocks tone in full lion’s roar,  Cook drums like he’s 25 years old, tight and smart, (percussion is a physical excursion at any age), and Glen Matlock knows and owns the material inside and out; as well he should, he wrote the shit. 

And Frank Carter policed the fucking stage. He's been there, and led the troops from beginning to end, the boys could not have picked a better lead vocalist for this incarnation of the band.  

Carter is an exceptional showman, a true punk rock athlete, singing “Pretty Vacant” from the pit without losing a note, showing respect to the ORIGINAL CORE Sex Pistols on his stage at every given opportunity, (even honoring them by distancing himself as he did so), shutting everything down and directing traffic when someone had either fallen ill or gotten injured down below, creating the first all ladies mosh pit, and gratefully thanking Dallas multiple times for waiting for The Pistols to return. (Their original appearance was canceled a year ago due to Jonesy breaking his wrist).

Johnny Rotten might be walking around the country right now, callously calling what’s touring as the Sex Pistols some sort of “karaoke“,  but he can eat a lit fart. How can you take seriously someone who once roared against “the fascist regime” of the royal family, that is now flying the MAGA flag?

Regardless, last night was legitimate punk rock;  If anybody out there has a chance to see this group, I recommend taking it in.  They're in Austin tonight and Houston tomorrow, folks. 

Last night's show resonated with us in a big way.

It’s nostalgia, but it’s new. 

It’s emotional, but they’ll make you laugh.  (Both vibes present in their cover of Sinatra’s “My Way”.  Which was mounds better than Sid’s).

It’s still anger, but it now carries with it some sense of hope.